The Pirates are committed to Pedro Alvarez at first base — manager Clint Hurdle recently said it was “Pedro’s job to keep” — but they are aware of his limitations against left-handed pitching, so they added a player Friday to mitigate those shortcomings.
Corey Hart, a right-handed hitter with a history of power production, signed a one-year contract with the Pirates that will pay him $2.5 million with an additional $2.5 million available in incentives, according to an industry source.
“If he goes out, is healthy and earns an opportunity to play more frequently than it appears at this point in time, he’ll have the opportunity to earn more money,” general manager Neal Huntington said.
Hart, 32, has struggled with injuries the past two season. He missed the entire 2013 season while recovering from surgical procedures on both knees. He had surgery on his right knee in the spring of 2012 to repair damaged cartilage. Then in January 2013, he had another procedure, which repaired a partially torn meniscus and other damage to the surface of the joint. While rehabilitating after the second procedure, Hart needed surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee in July of that year.
“We think we’re fully aware of the risks and felt like, given the contract amount and structure, both sides were adequately protected,” Huntington said.
Hart played for the Seattle Mariners in 2014 and hit .203 with a .271 on-base percentage, 6 homers and 9 doubles in 255 plate appearances. He went on the disabled list twice, once because of a strained left hamstring and once because of a bruised right knee.
His batting average on balls in play in 2014 was .244, well below the league average of about .300 and his career average of .309, suggesting he was somewhat unlucky. But he also wasn’t hitting the ball very hard: His isolated power, or slugging percentage minus batting average, was a career-low .116, down from his career mark of .208.
From 2010-12, Hart hit at least 26 home runs each season while with the Milwaukee Brewers. From 2006-12, the seasons in which he received regular playing time, he had a .277 average, a .335 on-base percentage and a .493 slugging percentage.
“We looked at what he’d done, really solid seasons from [2007] to ’12 but in particular ’10, ’11 and ’12,” Huntington said. “Coming off the knee surgeries, typically you don’t see a guy back to 100 percent until a year or two after. We’re working that, this is going to be year two, this is the first offseason he’ll have to truly work and get in baseball shape and not rehab.”
Hart is a career .290 hitter against left-handed pitching, with a .362 career OPB. That will help the Pirates platoon Alvarez. In 2014, though, Hart hit .196 with a .286 OBP against left-handers, consistent with his poor season offensively.
Hart will play first base on a regular basis for the first time in two years. He started two games at first base last season, spending most of the season as the designated hitter. He played first base regularly in 2012 in Milwaukee, but was a right fielder before that. Huntington said Hart could also play the outfield with the Pirates, spelling left-handers Gregory Polanco and Travis Snider.
“We’re certainly going to have to be diligent in our maintenance with Corey,” Huntington said. “The outfield will take a larger toll on an injured player’s knees than with the infield.”
The signing increased the projected opening-day payroll to about $93 million. That includes the seven players under contract, the 12 players eligible for arbitration, the rest of the 40-man roster, and pension and benefits obligations.
The Pirates designated right-hander Preston Guilmet for assignment to make room for Hart on the 40-man roster.
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NOTE — The $78.4 million payroll for 2014, a club record, ranked 27th among the 30 teams in Major League Baseball, according to MLB calculations obtained by The Associated Press and published Friday. Internal calculations had the payroll at $82.1 million. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: December 19, 2014, 7:47 p.m.
Updated: December 20, 2014, 1:03 a.m.
